A Brigham Young University Student Journal
by Alissa Holm Every college student has experienced that moment: You’re starving. It’s midnight. Everything seems to be closed. So what do you do? Eat another bowl of cereal? Run to McDonalds and get a McDouble? Beg your roommates to make you food? Well, you …
by Brittany Bruner Some people say that I’m stuck in old traditions because I love old things. I love elderly people; vintage clothing; classic movie stars like Jimmy Stewart, Grace Kelly, and Audrey Hepburn; and old jazz music. I especially love old jazz music. It …
by Danielle Cronquist
For this lovely week of love, I thought it would be best to share a special Valentine’s Day treat. Even though these raspberry-filled chocolate cupcakes with raspberry buttercream frosting take a little extra time to make, they are divine.
Cupcakes
I started by baking the cupcakes far enough ahead of time that they would cool before I filled them. You can find many different options for chocolate cupcakes online, but I am a firm believer that box cake mix tastes great. I chose to use a devil’s food cake.
Raspberry Filling
I found the recipe for the filling at http://thekitchenprescription.com. It fills 12 cupcakes.
Ingredients
2 cups unsweetened frozen or fresh raspberries (I used frozen)
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Add all the ingredients to a bowl. If you use frozen raspberries, let the mixture thaw at room temperature. If you make this ahead, refrigerate it until needed.
Raspberry Buttercream Frosting
This was my favorite part of the whole cupcake! I found this recipe at http://www.myrecipes.com.
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar
Beat the first four ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar.
Putting Together the Cupcakes
To remove the centers of the cupcakes I used a cupcake plunger, but if you don’t have one of these handy tools, a large water bottle cap works too. Scoop out a space on the top of each cupcake for the filling (don’t throw the extra cake away or eat it yet). Pour in your raspberry filling using a spoon. Place a piece of the removed cupcake back on top so that you can frost the cupcakes. For my cupcakes, I put the frosting in a plastic bag, cut off a corner, and used the bag as a piping bag to get a swirly design with my frosting. I wanted my cupcakes to look extra special for Valentine’s Day, so I drizzled some of the filling on top, crumbled some of the leftover cupcake over it, and topped it with a raspberry.
And now, you eat.
Enjoy!
by Rachel Nielsen The article “3 Things I Wish I Knew Before We Got Married” by Tyler Ward has been travelling through the interwebs lately. Boasting over 73,600 likes on Facebook, its appeal comes from the author’s honesty about the difficulties in marriage and his …
by Brittney Thompson If you live in Provo, then you know it can be near impossible to come up with fun and creative dates in the middle of a deep, Wasatch winter. That is why I was so excited when I discovered a little Valentine …
When I was younger, I was convinced that I was going to be on Broadway in New York City by the time I reached my early twenties. A few dance classes soon caused me to relinquish that dream since I am as talented at dancing as Michael Jordan is at playing professional baseball (thank you, Space Jam for that reference). Later, I thought I might major in media music, until I realized that I didn’t like songwriting and wasn’t really that good at it. When I started college, I decided to be an elementary education major. I was an el ed major for two years until I took my first English class at BYU and decided to change my major. I made the decision after the add/drop deadline and found myself with a blank schedule for the first time in college. It was a scary thing for me to make such a complete change, but I have loved it.
I am now in my final semester at BYU studying English with a minor in editing. While I didn’t end up majoring in music, I have been able to participate in the BYU a cappella group Noteworthy which has been such a fun experience for me in my final year in college.
As I reflect on the major decisions that I have made in my life, the one constant support for me is my family. I value the role of families in the community. I find it important to engage in conversations that will raise awareness for issues that involve the family, so I am excited to take on the role of one of two new senior editors for the blog.
By: Alissa Holm If you’re like me, there’s nothing that sounds better than eating a delicious bowl of taco soup with tortilla chips on a cold winter day. I had never made it myself until this afternoon, and the process was a lot easier than …
by Dustin Schwanger Contraception has, again, been a hot topic in the media over the past week, leading to a particularly feisty debate on Fox News. No, this isn’t over the Catholic Church’s suing the federal government over the contraception mandate (that has been conspicuously …
by Alissa Holm
We all have our own “What if’s” and “I wish’s” about past phases of life. In an attempt to learn from the past, I’ve come up with a series of blog posts based on this idea: Learning from other’s past experiences to enhance another’s future experiences. In part one, I discussed what married LDS women wish they would have known before they tied the knot. For this segment, I’d like to discuss what LDS women wish they would have known before they had kids.
Like I said in my last post, I am not married, nor do I have any children. However, I do have several connections in my life to wise women who do have children and know quite a bit on the subject. So, without further ado, I give you a list of ten “What I Wish I Would Have Known’s” in regards to having children.
1. Motherhood means sacrifice. Joseph Smith said, “Sacrifice is the first law of heaven.” From the moment you conceive your child, you will learn to sacrifice everything from your health, to your sleep, to your appear for them.
2. Kids won’t ever be happy when they are hungry or tired. Your kids need to be well fed and rested to be happy and perform well.
3. Don’t sweat the small stuff. You can discipline children all day long for what they’re doing wrong. Some of these things aren’t THAT big of a deal. Who cares if the kids rearrange your silverware drawer? Yes, it is annoying, but it isn’t worth making a big deal out of it.
4. Emotional scars are just as bad as physical scars. Be careful with your little ones’ hearts.
5. Be silly. Sometimes this is the best way to connect with your child.
6. Read a lot. Turn off the TV and teach your children to love books.
7. Kids are mirrors. Sometimes they may be slow to listen, but they are very quick to imitate. Be careful.
8. Traditions matter. The traditions your family establishes will shape your child’s memories for the rest of their lives.
9. You can’t spoil your kids with time, just money. Spending extra time with your kids can only make them better.
10. Be quick to forgive. Kids are so quick to forgive, so don’t feel too bad when you make a mistake. Just try harder the next day.
by Alissa Holm Every year, my mom bakes between 5 and 10 pies of all flavors the day before Thanksgiving. In our family, pies are more than just a dessert—they’re a tradition. Nobody knows how to make pie better than my mother, so I’ve snuck …